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Ben Affleck Teases a Less Angry Batman in Justice League

Ben Affleck has said that Justice League’s Batman will be different to the Dark Knight we were introduced to in Batman v Superman; a more “heroic” and less angry version of the Caped Crusader.

One of the things that film goers could agree on after having seen Batman v Superman was that Ben Affleck made a very good Batman. However, Affleck’s version of the Dark Knight was certainly one of the most angry, and some may even say less heroic, versions of Batman ever seen on-screen. It’s understandable why certain audience members may have found this to be slightly jarring. However, in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Affleck revealed that the Batman we’ll see in the upcoming Justice League will be very different to the one we witnessed in Batman v Superman.

“He’s [Batman] put in this position of having to reach out, find other people, convincing them to do something,” explained Affleck. “Part of the drama of the movie is the question of whether or not the team is going to come together. It’s very different from the tenor of the last movie.” Affleck then went on to highlight how this film’s Batman will be different to Snyder’s previous DC Comics flick. “BvS departed a little bit from the traditional Batman,” said Affleck. “He started out with all this rage directed at Superman, because of his coworkers who had died in the fight Superman had with Zod.”

Ben Affleck won’t be a sad Batman anymore.

“He was holding on to a lot of anger, in a little bit of an irrational way,” Affleck continued. “Whereas this is a much more traditional Batman. He’s heroic. He does things in his own way, but he wants to save people, help people.” Affleck also pointed out that Justice League’s portrayal of Batman will be much closer to the comics. “This is more in keeping with the canon of how Batman’s usually been portrayed, and how he’s portrayed vis a vis the Justice League in the comics,” explained Affleck. “This is more the Batman you would find if you opened up your average Batman comic book.”

On a personal note, it’ll be very refreshing to see a more heroic and less angsty Batman in the upcoming movie. We’ve spent far too much time watching Bruce Wayne brood over his parents death, both in the recently revamped DCEU and even to a certain extent the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy. It’s time to see Batman the hero, the leader of the Justice League, done justice on the big screen. If his last performance as the character was anything to go by, Affleck is most definitely the right man for the job.

And if all goes to plan and he does decide to stay on as Batman (depending on whether DC and Warner Bros. have decided that he’s not too old for the role), we might even get to see Batman do a bit of proper detective work. He is supposed to be the world’s greatest detective and we’ve never been privy to that side of the superhero on-screen.